Gift selection is prone to misjudgment as to interests of a recipient, as evidenced by merchandise exchanges (in-store and on-line), and re-gifting. The advent of gift cards was expected to increase recipient satisfaction, since a recipient is able to select from the entire inventory of an entity (e.g., store, restaurant, movie theater, and/or chain). However, the growth of gift cards has been accompanied by a similar growth in secondary markets for selling and trading unwanted or undesired gift cards.
Even where a desire of a recipient is known, selection of an appropriate item from a selection of available items is prone to misjudgment, sometimes due to nuanced personal preferences of the recipient. Example situations are too numerous to list, but a diverse set of examples include situations where a gift giver is to select a new video camera, power tool, jewelry (e.g., earrings), clothing, or entertainment (e.g., a movie or a play). For any of the example scenarios, personal preferences of a particular recipient and/or differences amongst available items may appear nuanced or even indiscernible to one person, but may be readily apparent to another person. Gifting an item that does not sufficiently meet the desires of a recipient may lead to disappointment in the recipient, and may be a waste of money.
Even where a gift giver selects an item that sufficiently meets the desires of a recipient, it is not uncommon for a person to present a gift, only to learn that the recipient already owns the same or similar item. This may result in disappointment and/or embarrassment on the part of the gift giver, who may have anticipated excitement in, and appreciation from the recipient.